A Randolph County judge has refused to lower the $500,000 cash bond for the former CEO of a failed factory project in Moberly who is facing felony fraud charges.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Associate Circuit Judge Mason Gebhardt on Thursday rejected the request from Bruce Cole, former chairman and CEO of Mamtek U.S. Inc.

The Southern California businessman is charged with stealing from the $39 million in bond funds borrowed by the city of Moberly to build an artificial sweetener factory that never opened. Prosecutors say he made false statements to promote his company and the bond sale.

Cole has been in custody since his Sept. 18 arrest. He’s being held in the Randolph County Jail in Huntsville, with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 17.